While writer and author can both be translated as 作家 (zuòjiā) or 作者 (zuòzhě) depending on the context, the former term can only refer to a writer who is relatively well-established, while the latter term can refer to any person who writes a text. 著者 (zhùzhě) shares the same meaning as 作者 (zuòzhě). 筆者／笔者 (bǐzhě) is usually used self-reflexively.